


The Second Gen and the Slytherin's Rebellion

by LuneSpark9



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Canon, Cuddling & Snuggling, Current Events, F/M, Fluff, Hogwarts, Kind of a remix of all the HP books I guess, Kissing, Magic, New Harry Potter characters, No Sex, No Smut, POV Third Person, Platonic Cuddling, Romance, Snogging, The second generation, Very little language
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-31
Updated: 2016-12-14
Packaged: 2018-04-29 02:14:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 9,130
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5112554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LuneSpark9/pseuds/LuneSpark9
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In current times, students of the original Harry Potter characters return to Hogwarts, to find a strange new teacher, plenty of romance, and many mishaps. Alliances are formed, revenge plots are planned, and the meanings of the Hogwarts houses are challenged for the first time.<br/>(FYI- most of this was written a long time before the Cursed Child was even announced, in the summer of 2015. Anything that's similar to Cursed Child is a coincidence! :) )</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Back to Hogwarts- Albus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A/N- Hi! I'm Lune, thanks for reading some of my first fanfic on here, I hope you like it! :) It's not super good because I wrote it a while ago, but feel free to write critiques, I really appreciate it! :)

The train jostled along the tracks, and Albus bounced in his seat along with it, staring at the expanse of misty green outside. His cousin, Rose, took his hand and squeezed it, quickly letting go. Albus smiled fleetingly at her before staring back out the window.

Albus had mixed feelings about going back to Hogwarts. It was his sixth year, and he knew that he would be hidden in his brother’s shadow once again. James Potter was head of the Quidditch team (Keeper), handsome, charismatic, popular, and good with the ladies. All of that combined with the fact that he excelled in his O.W.L.'s with seven Outstandings (proof that some people can not even bother to study and still excel- the gift of a perfect memory). And now that James was going to be graduating Hogwarts, Albus knew that he would be overlooked more than ever.

He was not looking forward to enduring the constant praise for his older brother. Already, he was hearing it, and it was only just the morning of the new school year. Albus’ mum gabbed on about how proud she was of James as they drove to the school. When they finally got to Platform 9 ¾ she swept them both into her arms. Albus inhaled her sweet flowery smell as her red hair tickled his cheek. She said, “I’m so proud of you both. I couldn’t have asked for better young men for sons.” When at long last she broke free, she sighed. “You’re both so grown up.”

Albus’s father put his arm around her and kissed the top of her head. Then he grabbed James's hand. "Don't get into too much trouble, James. And don't forget the big end of the year prank. Although it'll never be as good as the one Fred and George pulled off." James laughed; it was a family legend.

Then he smiled kindly at Albus, even though there was a little bit of a guarded look in his eyes. Albus gave him the exact same smile back, only a little more wince-y. "I love you, Albus," he said.

"Now go on, you both," Harry said, and waved both Albus and James on.

“Have a good year. We’ll see you both on Christmas. Work hard and don’t get into too much trouble,” Ginny said.

Christmas- a time when Albus had to enjoy his family gushing about James all bloody day... lovely. He definitely did not want to think about that.

Albus pressed his head against the cool glass and closed his eyes. He felt movement in front of him, and without looking, he knew that Eve Lovegood had sat in the seat in front of him, just like last year. He opened his eyes to see her, and she gave him a nod.

Usually, James would beside him on the train, but this year he had ran off with some other 7th year- a Slytherin, by the looks of it. She was alluring, with her long, dark, curling hair and heavy lidded eyes, and James seemed quite taken with her. He looked at her like he wanted to eat her, which certainly made Albus feel uncomfortable.

He liked girls like Eve, cold like a snow queen, real and honest and not trying to be what she wasn't. She was pretty in an edgy way. With the sides of her scalp shaved but for a long bit on top of her head, bleached a shocking white-blonde. Her eyes were deep navy blue lined with kohl, and she had a piercing on her lip, some on her ears, and one on her wrist. She already wore her school uniform- a plaid skirt and sweater over a collared shirt- but no robes. Albus knew she wouldn't be wearing her robes later, either, just to spite the school.

“So how was your summer?” asked Eve, looking at his hands. For all her rebelliousness, she was in some ways very shy. They had been friends since their second year, yet Eve still never seemed to quite meet his eyes.

“It was… uneventful.” The highlight had been O.W.L.’s, which he did just about as well on as James. “What about you?”

“The usual. I went with my mum and dad and grandfather to search for rare creatures. We went to Asia this summer, to look for forest spirits in the more rural parts of Japan. It was really hot, but interesting, I guess,” she shrugged.

“Did you find anything?”  


“Yep. This weird, huge grey creature like a cross between an owl and a bear. We don’t know what to call it. But some little girls there called it a Totoro.”

Just then, the trolley came by with sweets- pumpkin pasties, Bertie Bot’s Every Flavor Beans, Chocolate Frogs.

Albus tossed the kind woman a galleon and grabbed a handful of each. She smiled at him, eyes crinkling, and walked on.

The mood immediately liften when Albus arrived with sweets. Rose stood up and grabbed some pumpkin pasties, and Eve went for the Every-Flavor Beans. Albus sorted through the Chocolate Frog cards. He had a huge collection at home, many of which sported his father’s own name- “Harry Potter. Auror; deafeated the Dark Wizard Voldemort in his seventh year of Hogwarts, ending the Second Wizarding War.”

Rose spoke in between bites of pasty. “This summer I went to Romania to see dragons and my uncle Charlie.”

“Is Charlie married yet?” Albus asked.

“Actually, yes! Just got married a few days ago, in fact," Rose smiled. "He didn’t tell gran, and she had a huge fit. It was hilarious. The girl's awesome, though- really smart, like him. Probably knows twice as much about dragons, even though Charlie's been working in the field for what, two decades?”

“I’m jealous you got to see dragons. We saw a couple of Welsh Greens on a quick visit to Wales, but that was it,” Albus said. "And they are pretty damn boring, being dragons and all."

"I heard they're pretty shy, though, you must've been lucky."

"Deer are shy, doesn't stop you from seeing 'em all. The. Time," Albus said, causing them to laugh.

There was an easy silence, as the mood in the room began to lift. Then Rose piped up randomly.

“Bloody hell did James go?!”

“Language, Weasley,” said a cool voice in the doorway.

Albus looked up and frowned. It was Scorpius, lazily leaning against the doorjamb. He slowly combed his hand through his white blonde hair; it stuck up in the front like a duck’s tail.

“What do you want?” Rose sneered.

“Nothing,” he said, too fast, and a blush spread across his cheeks. “Just you all to... uh... shut up! Nevermind.” He slammed the sliding door and left.

Rose frowned. “That was... awkward.”

“Yeah, well,” Eve rolled her eyes. “Of course he's awkward. He's in love. Everyone knows he fancies Lily.”

Albus burst out in laughter- real laughter- for the first time in weeks. “Yeah right!” he said, between gulps of air. “She’s a Gryffindor. He’s a Slytherin. Our parents are rivals, always have been. That’s the most ridiculous thing I think I’ve ever heard!”

Eve just looked out the window and shook her head. “Well, I think it’s obvious.”

Rose rolled her eyes. “Who knows, Albus. Who knows.” She twirled a lock of her explosion of loosely curled red hair with her finger. "Love works in mysterious ways."

Rose was usually much more vivacious, but today she seemed a little bit subdued, like she was in a dream world. Her personality fit her appearance; she was plump, with big brown eyes like her mother’s and an explosion of freckles on her face.

The door slid open again, and in squished Lily, Hugo, Hetal Patil, and Fred, and suddenly the tiny room was crushed with people and sounds.

“Where have you all been?” asked Rose.

“Prefect meetings and crap,” grinned Fred, proceeding to wrap his orange and red striped tie around his head.

“I’m so glad it’s finally over,” groaned Hugo, rumpling up his auburn hair.

“They really are stifling,” Lily smiled apologetically at Albus.

Albus smiled back feebly. He hadn’t gotten the prefect badge last year, and it was quite disappointing. At least James never got one either, and neither did Albus’s father.

Lily and Hetal smiled at Eve and sat next to her. Albus noticed the way Hetal’s long black hair and gold nose ring sparkled in the growing sunlight. Even her skin shimmered, though he didn't know how.

“How are you?” Hetal asked Eve.

Fred scooted in next to Rose and proceeded to take up half the bench. “Oy, Rose, you’re quiet today!” he said, pulling one of her curls and watching it spring back.

“Sorry, don't worry, I’m... fine,” she said. This was definitely very uncharacteristic of her. And then her eyes brightened, as she looked out the door through the window, and gleefully shouted “Make room, guys!” The door opened, and Owen Finch walked in. “Hi, everyone, oh, there isn't any room.” He turned around.

Rose grabbed his hand quickly. "Don't leave!" Owen looked back and smiled at her, his face filled with light, and then Rose nudged Fred and somehow they made a spot for him. It was all very romantic, Albus supposed, trying not to think about how his arm was pressed uncomfortably against the wall.

Rose kissed Owen's cheek.

“It’s like a family reunion in here,” laughed Fred over the din. “Who wants to play Exploding Snap?”

And so for the rest of the ride they played Exploding Snap in the tiny compartment, with great hilarity, Fred providing a running commentary. Slowly but surely, Albus felt his spirits rise; one couldn’t be unhappy with all the loud, happy voices.

But all too soon, Albus felt the train slow, and the heavy feeling spread over him again. He shrugged on his emerald green robes over his plain slacks, button-down tee and sweater. The robes signified that he was in Slytherin house; they used to be black, but the school wanted there to be a wider difference between the different houses. Albus, however, did not like the change; it only made him feel more alienated from the rest of his perfect Gryffindor family, and most of his friends, who were almost all in different houses. It gave more reason for him to be overlooked; he was a blemish on the family. He could have at _least ___been sorted into Hufflepuff or something a little more respectable, even if it would've been boring.

The train screeched to a stop, and Albus jostled out, splitting from his family and friends to the other Slytherins. He felt his mood darken even more and he scowled as the other Slytherins sniggered and pointed at him. At least Scorpius looked just as grumpy as him.

“Happy to be back, Potter?” he muttered, not even bothering to smirk.

“Delighted. You?” Albus said providing a weak sarcastic smile.

“I’m just _so_ glad, especially with your face to see every day,” he rolled his eyes and stomped ahead.

“Weak, Scorpius, weak.” Albus shook his head and followed. 


	2. Chapter 2- Lily

Lily smoothed her bright red-orange robes as she left the carriage. She knew it was drawn by invisible thestrals- she even remembered the day when her father laughed and told Albus not to worry about them. He couldn't see them, none of them could, but all of them were still nervous when hearing stories about the mysterious carriages that appeared to be able to go by themselves, but were actually driven by skeletal winged horses. Two years later, she was all steeled and ready to _not_ see them- she was prepared.

Being prepared was Lily’s strong suit. She had everything she needed for classes with her at all times. Her hair was always perfectly brushed and straightened. At Hogwarts, she only needed a simple spell to do it. Every day was a routine, and that was how she stayed unfazed- she was brave because she was always ready for whatever came her way. Everyone said she was like Hermione (her aunt) except with straight hair.

And as Lily filed into the huge Great Hall with all the other students, she felt all ready for a productive year ahead. As she sat in her usual seat on the Gryffindor table beside Hugo and Hetal, set down her supplies the way she always did, quillon the right, books in a pile on the front of the desk, and scroll in front of her. She felt completely and utterly ready, all up until Scorpius Malfoy caught her eye in the table to the left; then it all fell away. She blushed. Then she shook her head and told herself to focus. It would be stupid to let feelings take control when this was going to be an important year for her, preparing for N.E.W.T.'s; there was no time for being frivolous.

Lily looked straight to the front of the Great Hall, where the Sorting was beginning, pretending there were blinds so she wouldn't look at Scorpius again.

Professor Clearwater cleared her throat.

“Abbot, Tina!”

A small girl with an abundance of dirty-blonde hair ran forward and bounced on the stool.

“Hufflepuff!” the worn Sorting Hat shouted.

The first Gryffindor was “Bates, Quigley”, the second “Green, Ivy”. Both received enthusiastic applause from the table. After “Reed, Conrad” (a small, wiry boy who got Slytherin) went Lorcan Scamander, who got in Ravenclaw, and then Lysander Scamander, who was announced a Gryffindor. Lily heard Eve Lovegood whoop all the way from the Ravenclaw table even through the roar of Gryffindor’s cheers. Lysander sat down shyly a few seats away from Lily, looking very small. When he sat on the stool, the hat slipped right over his ears. His eyes seemed to big for his body, round and piercing blue.

The Sorting Hat began to sing.

When the song was over, Professor Clearwater moved the Sorting Hat and the stool and sat down. Professor McGonagall, the headmaster, stood, and with a flourish of her wand food appeared on the tables. Lily’s mouth watered as she felt the smell and warmth of food wash over her. The Great Hall glowed with the light of a thousand floating candles, making all the food look even more delicious. The ceiling was awash in the clouds of a magnificent red-orange sunset. Lily dug a heaping spoonful of mashed potatoes and a thick slice of mince pie, and poured herself a goblet of pumpkin juice.

Beside her, Hugo heaped food onto his plate; he had the same appetite as his father- bottomless! He took a heaping bite of baked potato and moaned with joy.

The hall rang with the sound of hundreds of voices laughing and talking, the clatter of forks and spoons against plates. Ghosts swooped overhead; Nearly Headless Nick reluctantly showed off his not-quite-severed head to the first years, as Fred had put him on the spot as usual. Lily snorted when one kid nearly fainted. It was all so familiar. 

Lily was digging into some trifle when she felt the entire room begin to buzz. She looked up and watched with the rest of the students as a tall, graceful, glowing man came into the room, wearing long, shimmering gold and forest green robes. His hair was long and golden brown, and his pointed ears poked through it. He took a seat at the table with all the other teachers, but didn’t touch any food or speak. Lily found it difficult to tear her eyes away from him; he was unlike anything she had ever seen before. And he was beautiful, too; his face was pale and heart-shaped, and his eyes were the deepest green she had ever seen. His thin lips showed no trace of a smile; he was expressionless, emotionless.

Finally, Lily tore her eyes away and turned back to her trifle. She tried to focus on eating it but then she kept looking over at Scorpius, because she just couldn't help it, and catching him looking back at her. Even when she was looking away she could feel his eyes on her and it made her feel nervous, so she could hardly taste the food. She kept telling herself not to look over, but it was like her eyes were doing something completely different from her brain wanted them to, somehow.

Lily thought Scorpius was handsome, with his pale, pointed face and light green-blue eyes. But she knew that he was a Slytherin, and that meant that he was proud and selfish, and her friends and family would not approve of him. And he was so cold and heartless all the time, that she could never imagine having feelings for him. 

When every platter was picked clean, Professor McGonagall stood up and raised her thin hands for attention. She smiled, her worry lines softening for just a moment.

“Welcome, students, both new and old,” she said crisply. “Welcome to another year at Hogwarts. I know you are all full and drowsy, but I hope you all will rouse yourselves for a couple short announcements. First of all, we have a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, as Professor Mitwit had a nasty accident with an anger of dragons in Asia- don’t ride broomsticks under the influence of firewhiskey, students. Regardless, he is not currently prepared to teach, so we have a new teacher, Professor Goldwind.”

The man who Lily assumed was part elf stood briefly and bowed his head once. The corners of his mouth curled up just slightly, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes.

“Another announcement- as usual, merchandise from Zonko’s Joke Shop and Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes products are banned from the school. That includes dungbombs- always a nuisance for Filch- and now, invisible enhanced Whoopee Cushions as they were quite the distraction last year.”

A titter went across the whole Hall as she looked pointedly at Hugo and Fred. Near Lily, Hugo and Fred groaned loudly. McGonagall raised her hands again and the room silenced. “Hugo and Fred Weasley, I am looking at you, as you probably noticed.” They laughed, and she smirked a little. “Now I know you are all exhausted, so please go to your rooms and get some rest. Classes start tomorrow, and I want all of you to be successful in your classes.”

Lily walked up with the rest of the Gryffindors to the tower, feeling full and sleepy. When she finally reached her bed, though, she couldn’t resist looking outside, seeing the grounds awash in moonlight and the swaying trees. She smiled- everything was familiar, and she felt at home. Well, mostly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Editing and formatting is VERRRRYYYYYY tenuous!!!! Also sorry for not writing a Sorting Hat song. Just... pretend there is one. Make up your own! XD


	3. Chapter 3- Rose

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Fantastic Beasts soundtrack is so good omg

As soon as Rose tumbled out of bed, she slipped on her plaid skirt, yellow sweater, and black Mary Janes and shook out her curly hair. She walked down to the light-filled Hufflepuff common room, tingling with excitement, looking around for Owen. He was sitting alone, like he often did, because even though he had friends he was often very shy and stood by himself. Rose bounded over to him.

“Hi,” she squeaked.

“Hi,” he said with a big grin. 

Rose loved Owen Thomas to bits. She loved his glasses, his dark hair and his laugh. She loved the way he looked her, like she was the only one in the room worth looking at. Even though they were a full year apart in ages, somehow it never mattered when they were together.

“Excited for the first day?” she asked.

“Meh. Potions is my first class, so no, not really,” Owen replied.

“Oh… yeah, well, I’m sorry," Rose said, frowning. "It can only get better after that, though. I don’t have class until right before lunch- History of Magic!!!"

Rose wanted to be a writer, so Professor McGonagall suggested she take classes that would provide a good foundation for her career, and give her some good techniques. The classes included Muggle Studies and Runes (for a good language foundation), as well as History of Magic of course. She was also taking Herbology, Art and Ancient Studies because she was interested in those subjects.

“Lucky! Professor Finnigan is bloody awesome,” Owen laughed. They had finally kicked out Professor Binns because of all the complaints of his poor teaching, and replaced him with Seamus Finnigan, a former student who was known for not being very good at magic, but being quite interested in wizarding history. He was funny and always tried to make the subject interesting, even if he did go on a lot of long, winding tangents. 

“I know, right,” Rose giggled. “Want to go get some toast or something?”

“Sure.”

They wound their way down to the Great Hall, passing paintings of stuffy wizards and clacking suits of armor, down tricky staircases and through hidden doors, until finally they arrived at the Great Hall. They sat down just as the owls began to swoop in from overhead. Rose giggled as a large package dropped from her owl, Thorn, onto her plate. It was a book, a Muggle one that she had always loved called The Penderwicks on Gardam Street. It always made her feel warm and Hufflepuff-y on the inside. She’d forgotten to pack it to bring to Hogwarts, but evidently her mum thought she should bring it. Inside was a note from her.

_Like the characters in this book, you have traits from all the houses- but the trait I most love about you is your ability to accept others and love. It is truly a beautiful gift._

_Love, Mum_

Rose felt herself smile as her body warmed with pride. She held the book against her chest and sighed, closing her eyes.

Owen glanced at her. "What is it? What did you get?"

Rose grinned and fell against him so her shoulder was pressed against his. "Just a little note from my Mum."

“I really like you, Rose,” he said from out of the blue.

"I really like you too, Owen," Rose said, smiling at him and blushing. 

Rose took a bite of toast and marmalade. Just then, the sound of hoofbeats filled the room. Silence fell over the Great Hall as several centaurs trotted into the room, up into the front table where the Headmaster and the teachers sat. The foremost centaur, who was obviously the leader, began to speak.

“Minerva McGonagall! We have come on account of your new professor, Goldwind of the Oak Forest.”

Professor McGonagall’s eyebrows drew together. She frowned. “What is the issue here, Miral?”

“Madame, this elf,” he said with great disgust, as if the very word was nasty to taste. “is breaking our sacred laws. We have been rivals with his kind for eons and he is as such not permitted within our territory. I request that you remove him at once from Hogwarts, or we shall have to use force.”

Cold fury shot out of McGonagall's eyes as she glared at him. “That will be unnecessary. Hogwarts is not a part of your territory; you only have some of the Forbidden Forest." 

The centaur huffed. “He is still too close according to our laws."

"Miral, this man happens to only be half elf, as well. You should know this, Miral- I know you can sense it." 

Miral looked ahead stonily- he was just as angry as McGonagall. "So be it. I shall release him because he is only half elf- however, if he comes anywhere near the Forbidden Forest, we will not show him- nor this school- any mercy.”

“Let it be so,” sighed McGonagall.

With a single nod to McGonagall, Miral left.

~

That afternoon, Rose sat at the edge of the lake, enjoying the warm breeze. The giant squid floated lazily on the ruffled water. Rose’s quill sped over her parchment; she was working on a new novel she'd recently come up with. This one was set during the Renaissance, and was about two lovers.

Rose was chewing on the end of her quill when Molly, Roxanne, and Lily came running over, laughing. Behind them huffed Lucy, her long, perfectly straight hair flying in her face and mouth in an irritated pout.

Molly flopped onto the grass beside Rose and sighed, brushing her pink hair out of her face. “Whatcha writing?” she asked.

“A Renaissance romance.”

“Sounds sexy.”

“It’s not very sexy, trust me,” Rose giggled.

“Merlin’s beard, a sexy Renaissance romance? Sounds fan _tast_ ic. But seriously, how do you find time to write this stuff? I have loads of homework, and it’s only the first day,” Roxanne gushed, lowering herself onto the grass, beaded necklaces clicking.

“I do too, but I plan to ignore it for now,” Rose said. She had a paper for Muggle Studies and some Runes studying to do, but it wasn’t due for a little while, and she just wasn’t in the mood.

Lucy frowned above them, straightening her wire-rimmed glasses. “You should do it as soon as possible. You shouldn’t procrastinate or you’ll fail.”

“Gosh, it’s only the first day, Luce. Give it a rest,” Molly muttered.

Lucy rolled her eyes. “Well, don’t blame me when you have to stay for an eighth year.”

“Why don’t you sit down with us and stop towering over like a big bossypants? You’re acting like McGonagall or something. I have enough teachers bossing me around as it is. I don’t need you doing it too,” said Molly.

“I don’t want to get grass stains on my uniform,” she said snottily, brushing nonexistent dust from the sleeve of her pressed shirt.

Roxanne laughed. “You both are hilarious to watch.” She combed her hand through her flop of dark hair.

And while they were often funny to watch, Rose often got annoyed with how often they fought with each other. It seemed like they would never stop. They were both sisters, and had to be around each other all the time, and they also happened to be complete opposites, so those two things combined made them difficult to be around sometimes.

Hugo, Fred and Owen came running towards them, and stopped to say hello. 

"Want to feed the squid? I stole some food from the kitchens," Hugo asked.

"Nah," most of the girls said, except for Roxanne, who was willing to do anything. They ran to the water’s edge and threw out chunks of food, watching the squid snake its tentacles out of the water and snatch each piece right out of the air. 

Owen sat down beside Rose, and they kissed.

Roxanne groaned. “Bollocks- now you’re gonna get all mushy by us. Get a room!"

Owen looked uncomfortable, but Rose just laughed and took his hand. 

Randomly, Fred and Hugo started shouting by the lake. “Oy! Come over here! Quick!”

They all ran over to the lakeside, Lucy cursing behind everyone as she tried to keep her hair back. In the middle of the lake was an angry-looking Merman, chattering incomprehensibly.

“How strange,” Molly muttered.

“No kidding,” Lucy frowned.

Roxanne tugged nervously on her necklace.

Fred and Hugo shouted back- “We can’t understand you!”

So fast they could hardly see him, the Merman swam to the edge of the lake and grabbed Hugo with his webbed hand. Rose only caught a glimpse of his frightened face before he disappeared under the water.


	4. Chapter 4- Scorpius

Scorpius was frustrated, as usual.

His father had forced him to continue to take Defense Against the Dark Arts, despite his many arguments against it. He found it quite unnecessary, but his father had insisted. He refused explain why, only told him that he had to get good grades in it if he wanted the new Firebolt. They said it was so fast that you could easily pass an airplane.

Scorpius and Albus were the only two Slytherins who chose to take the class. They got to join all the 6th-year Gryffindors- Fred Weasley, Hetal Patil, Amanda Bell, Maya Suzuki, and several others.

When Scorpius walked into the room, the first thing he noticed how bright it was. The room was full of a soft golden light that melded with the light from the windows. Gold vines crept over the sides of the plain wooden walls and ceiling. There were no seats, only a couple of long wooden oak tables.

Professor Goldwind stood still at the front of the room; today, he wore dark brown robes with gold threads running through. He looked at the students as they came in, but made no sound or movement.

When they were all in the room, he spoke and said in a soft, clear voice, “Welcome, students, to Defense Against the Dark Arts.” He held up a long wand and flicked it at the tables, where many strange objects appeared. “You are going to learn how to harness nature to defend yourselves against Dark Forces. I will teach you how to make powerful items easily made with magical forest plants and elven spells, that can be used to heal and to harm.

“At first, you may think that this sounds like Herbology. However, it is very different. Elven magic is much more complex and nuanced, and we know of even more advanced plants that can be used, and more advanced ways to use them. We can even take common, non-magical plants for magical uses. 

"Now. On the tables you will see supplies to make a special protective totem you can use if you suspect enemies may be near. It will perfectly mask you in the forest from those with malevolent energy, keeping you virtually invisible, as well as impossible to smell or track. I will demonstrate how to make it in the front here, you may come and watch.”

Scorpius walked over to the tables with Albus. On the table was an array of different plant pieces and soft cloths along with some twine.

“This flower,” Goldwind said, “contains the cloaking abilities. It is called Duskflower. We also add this leaf, which when crushed, will mask your scent.” He showed them how to wrap a few of the small, dried blue flowers in a cloth to make a small package, then fix it tight with twine."

The students all managed to do just fine on the first try, but Goldwind still walked around snubbing his nose at what everyone had made, telling them they needed to make it more perfectly wrapped, which Scorpius found rather patronising. Until he told them they had to put enchantments over the totem, in Elvish, and that was why they had to be absolutely perfect.

“This binds the power of the flowers to your person," he said.

Scorpius nudged Albus. “Is this even Potions?”

Goldwind stopped speaking and looked straight at Scorpius, his brown eyes flashing gold. “Elves do not take part in the childish patter that is Potions. It is mediocre, compared to what we can do with the ingredients.” Then he walked towards Scorpius, who realized just how tall Goldwind was- he really was very tall. "While we will make some mixtures that you may refer to as "potions", they are far more advanced from what any other mortal teacher would show you."

"Well how come no other teachers know about it? It must not be that important."

Goldwind's nostrils flared ever so slightly. "Elven magic is very powerful, and the Elves are a secretive race. Many wizards do not even know that we exist. You are lucky that I am only part elf, so I am not held to the same standards as other elves. I am allowed to teach you this, and you should treat this opportunity as a gift." He turned his face away from Scorpius. "Please refrain from making more ignorant comments, if you please. I don't need students questioning my integrity. I assure you that the Elves are aware of what I am doing. If they weren't, I would have a price on my head for breaking centuries-old Elven laws, and would probably be dead by now." 

“Now, students, redirect your attention to the totem, and repeat after me…”

Soon the room was quiet with mutters of Elven- except for Fred, who was getting quite loud and red in the face as he aimed his wand at the Dusk Totem. His wand only shot out spouts of gold glitter.

“Let me see your wand, Weasley, if you please,” said Goldleaf smoothly, taking it with slender fingers. Fred gazed at him looking rather awestruck; he really was quite magnificent up close. “Ah. Your wand is dragon heartstring, Cherry, long and springy- quite adept at common defensive magic, but mediocre at best for Elven magic. Here,” he said, He pointed Fred's wand at the totem and spoke the Elven he had taught everyone. “ _Templa ulua, tul a n'e, totem heth a' i' kolindo_.” A thin silver stream flowed from the wand to the Totem. “There. Perhaps it shall work a bit better, now that my hand has used it.”

Fred gave him a wide grin and took the wand. Professor Goldleaf did not smile, just walked toward Scorpius. “Ah. How… unique."

All Scorpius had managed so far was to get a thick purple sludge to pour from his wand. “Sir, I think you should also fix my wand.”

Goldleaf smirked. “Indeed. May I see it?” he took the wand. “Unicorn tail hair and birch, 11 inches precisely, not too much give. This is a quite satisfactory wand for Elven magic and common magic alike, but you are completely botching this spell. You need to repeat the words precisely.” He pointed the wand at Scorpius’s Totem, and a perfect silver stream came out of it. He gave the wand back to Scorpius, and turned to the whole room. “Of course, all of you need practice. I shall personally evaluate each of your wands, so I can make absolutely sure that you will be able to perform this difficult magic. Now, I expect a paper on the properties of Duskflower, due next Friday. You may keep your totems. _Vanya sulie_.”

That afternoon, Scorpius stood in the grounds, talking to Crowley and Carrow. They sniggered at everything Scorpius said, even if it wasn’t even vaguely funny, which annoyed him. Sometimes he didn't even understand why they were friends, but his father had encouraged him to make sure he had people to protect him from outside forces at all times. Crowley and Carrow just so happened to be the most buff of all the Hogwarts students, as well as the most stupid.

Scorpius looked over to the entrance doors in boredom just as several redheads and Professor McGonagall walked out.

“Crowley, Carrow- pull yourselves together!" Scorpius snapped. "The Weasleys are up to something, and I want to know what.”

He grabbed their arms and tugged them over, and they began to follow the group quietly. They walked down the grounds to the lakefront. I wonder if they’re taking McGonagall swimming, thought Scorpius, and almost laughed. What an absurd thought!

But as they came closer to the lake, Scorpius quickly realized something serious was going on. Rose Weasley’s face was extremely pale, and Roxanne, Fred’s sister, looked like she was crying. Lily was talking with McGonagall and gesturing wildly to the lake. Scorpius felt his stomach flip at the sight of her. She noticed him a few seconds later when she looked up the hill, and a flicker of recognition passed over her face. She talked to McGonagall a moment longer, then walked over to Scorpius, brows furrowed.

 _Play it cool,_ Scorpius told himself.

“Hello, Malfoy,” muttered Lily, looking with her warm brown eyes anywhere but at him.

“Hello, Potter.” Scorpius took a deep breath. Why was it that everything that came out of his mouth was the opposite of what he wanted to say? “What’s bloody going on over here? Did somebody die or something?” _Oh no_ , he thought, _I meant to tell her how pretty her eyes were, and ask her why she was worried. Well, it's too late now._

Lily looked at him angrily. “For all we know, that might be true. Fred was dragged under by a merperson.”

Scorpius frowned. “Good riddance, I guess,” Scorpius said off-handedly, as a shiver ran down his spine. Oops.

Scorpius froze under Lily’s gaze. His face flushed. _I should not have said that, I should_ not _have said that_ , he thought. 

Lily’s hands clenched at her side. “Honestly! I thought you were better than that. Turns out, you're just the same as the rest of them.”

“Them who?” Scorpius asked, bewildered.

“The other _Slytherins_ ,” she spat.

“Your brother’s a Slytherin too, you know,” Scorpius said indignantly.

“Yeah, but he’s kind, he’s not a coward, and he’s not unfeeling! He’s a hundred times the better man than you!” Lily shouted.

“Lily-“ Scorpius pleaded.

Just then, a merman popped his head out of the water, chattered at Professor McGonagall (who spoke fiercely back), and tossed Fred out of the water.

“I don’t think I have ever seen such obstinacy in all my days at this school!” fumed Professor McGonagall, walking speedily back to the castle with Fred in tow. “Come, come, Madame Pomfrey must check on you.”

~

That night, as Scorpius walked in the dungeon corridors to the Slytherin dungeon, he saw in the dim torchlight two figures- a boy and girl, both with dark hair, talking in quiet whispers, their heads almost touching.


	5. Chapter 5- Albus

“James!” Albus shouted, running after his brother, who was walking side-by-side with a girl with long, dark, curly hair. Her hips swayed confidently- she was certainly gifted in the curves area.

“Hey, Albus,” James said, turning around. “What’s up?”

“Where have you been? I haven’t seen you since you got on the train!”

“I’ve been busy,” he smirked.

“With _what_?” Albus raised an eyebrow.

"Bec."

The girl walking by his side turned around and gave Albus the once-over, decided he was unremarkable, and turned around. “I told you not to call me Bec. I'm Rebecca Lestrange,” she said haughtily.

“Wait- Lestrange?” Albus looked at her fully, and realized with a jolt that he did recognize the Seventh year, albeit vaguely. “James, her grandmother-“

“My grandmother was a Death Eater, yes,” she said coolly. Her voice was cool, and slipped down his skin like water, soaking into his pores. It was very uncomfortable.

“Rebecca isn’t like her grandmother. She’s only a little bit naughty,” James said, kissing Rebecca on the cheek. She giggled, which made Albus shiver again- her giggle was creepy.

“Wow. I'm really sorry I haven't talked to you since before the train ride. I really, really think it's time to amend that, James,” Albus said, shaking his head.

James rolled his eyes. “Fine, we can talk. Be right back, babe.”

“Hurry,” she said in a low, sultry voice, blowing him a kiss. Albus nearly gagged.

They walked down the corridor a ways, and turned the corner so she couldn’t see them.

“Why are you dating a bloody Slytherin, and a Lestrange at that?! You can never trust her- bloody ulterior motives and all that.”

“You’re a Slytherin too, you know. How do I know I can trust you?”

“Because I’m your brother, and I care about you!"

James sighed. “Well, I don’t really care what you have to say about it. Even though you’re my brother. Because you know, she fancies me, and she’s really hot and she’s really good at... you know...” he shrugged.

“Could you be more shallow?” Albus shook his head. “Bloody idiot.”

“Who are you to judge?” James frowned.

“You know what, I’m done with this,” Albus threw his hands up in the air. “You don’t even care what I have to say. I shouldn't have bothered.”

“Yeah, that’s what I just said. So maybe you should leave.”

“Fine. I will.” And Albus stomped away, feeling his heart sink with every step.

 

“I just don’t get it. Why would he even go out with her? I’m worried about how she might influence him,” Albus said. He was ranting.

“Mmm…” Eve looked at her hands clasped in front of her.

Albus was in the Owlery with Eve, delivering an answer to Hagrid’s tea invitation. He and the other Weasley/Potter’s and a few friends went always to Hagrid's house for tea on the second Friday of school, as a tradition.

“Do you think James will come to tea?” Eve asked.

“We’ll see. Somehow I doubt it.” Albus sighed

“I’m sorry he’s being impossible,” said Eve.

Albus smiled. “Yeah, thanks.”

They were quiet for a moment. Albus fastened the note to his owl, Pendragon's, leg.

“Albus?” Eve asked, taking a deep breath, when he was finished.

“Yeah?”

“Do you li… I mean, do you like school?”

That was a weird question. “Yeah, it's fine, I guess,” he said, his mouth twisting. “I just really hate Potions and being a Slytherin.”

After the first couple of Potions classes, Albus quickly realized that Professor Goldwind really disliked all the students. He reasoned they knew things about elven magic when it was completely new to everyone. He was very proud, and calculating, which meant that no one lived up to his expectations. Not to mention, half of what he taught wasn't even potions- it was probably Herbology.

“Well I like him," Eve said. "He makes me want to try harder.”

“Seriously?” For a moment, Eve’s blue eyes snapped to his.

“Yes! I mean-“ she looked back down to the droppings-littered floor. “Yes. I do. He’s nice.”

“Maybe he just likes Ravenclaws.”

“Well, Ravenclaws do like to study elven magic. It is challenging and some of it our wands are unable to do, but there are some pretty cool things with it, especially in healing. So we like it.”

“Well now it makes sense, I guess. He must like people who are familiar with his culture. But it still wouldn’t explain why he hates Scorpius. Scorpius is a perfectly good student, in my opinion.”

“Who knows?"

They walked back to the castle in silence, both occupied with their own thoughts.


	6. Chapter 6: Rose

“I wonder what’s going on with the centaurs and the merpeople," asked Rose. She was cuddling with her cousin Molly in a comfy chair in the Hufflepuff basement common room. Moonlight trickled in from the circular windows; the fireplace warmed her toes. The smell of soil, burning candles and tea leaves filled the room.

Molly ran her fingers through Rose’s hair, untangling it. “Well obviously the centaurs don’t like Goldwind. And I have a bad feeling the merpeople don't like him either.”

“But… why not?”

“Now that, I do not know. Ask a Ravenclaw,” said Molly dismissively.

Rose wrinkled her nose. “I can find out by myself, you know. Just because I’m a Hufflepuff doesn’t mean I can't be curious and do research and stuff."

“True,” Molly said. “I guess we could stop by the library tomorrow.”

“I'm down with that,” said Rose happily. “I love the library. Especially on weekends, when I can spend as much time there as I want.”

Molly laughed. “You are so different from other Hufflepuffs, Rose. Sometimes I really think you should be a Ravenclaw.”

“Yeah, well, my house doesn’t define me. I define me,” she said cheerfully.

Rose felt a tug on her scalp. “What are you doing with my hair?” Rose asked, eyes watering.

“Making a braid,” said Molly.

“By the way, I love your hair Molly. I wish I were bold enough to dye mine. What color are you gonna dye it next?”

“Blue, I think. Or maybe emerald green.”

“Ooh!” Rose sighed.

Rose pursed her lips. “Do you have any Digestives anywhere, by chance?”

“Uh, no, why would I have Digestives? What even are those?” Molly laughed.

Rose frowned, but there was mirth in her eyes. “Bugger. Mom got me addicted to Muggle snacks, and now I’m craving some. Maybe Honeydukes will stock some if I ask them, even though they're _technically_ biscuits. Hey, are you going to Hogsmeade next month?”

“Of course. The thought already sounds lovely.”

“Wanna go with me and Owen?”

“And be the third wheel? No, thank you very much,” laughed Molly.

A soft breeze brushed Rose’s face; one of the windows was cracked open. “I’m inviting the others, too. It’ll be a crowd, as usual.”

“I don’t like crowds much. I like being with you, in the quiet, like this,” Molly said softly, and kissed the top of Rose’s head.

“And I love being with you, Mol.”

~

Rose’s fingers brushed over the old, dusty tomes on the library shelves. The leather was soft and velvety under her fingers. She slid a couple of volumes out of the shelves; they looked like they might contain something about elves; it seemed like they hadn't been touched for years. She walked back over to the table where Molly sat poring over some faded pages. Molly looked up.

“Rose!” Molly said excitedly, a little too loudly. Her voice rang in the quiet library. “Sorry,” she said, voice dropping. “I found some things. Apparently, both the centaurs and the merpeople had something they loved dearly, their own treasures that held a lot of history in their communities and were very important, often revered and displayed for everyone to see. The items were rich with powerful magic. But many centuries ago, the elves stole the item that was the centaur’s and the item that was the merpeople’s.”

“That's awful. What happened?”

“They all fought each other for many, many years. The centaurs and merpeople both fought each other first, until they both realized that the other had not taken their prizes. So then they banded together to try to fight the elves, but the elves were too powerful and could not be defeated despite their combined forces. The book doesn’t really say much about their reconciliation for some reason, but it sounds like neither the merpeople nor the centaurs got their items back, which would explain why they still seem to hate each other.”

“It sounds as if they never got any kind of reconciliation," Rose said thoughtfully. "That’s just wonderful,” she muttered. 

"Do you think we should do anything about it?" Molly asked. 

“I don’t know. I wish we could find the items, but of course neither of us have any idea what they are… maybe we should just leave it for now. McGonagall probably knows about all this stuff already."

“I hope so,” Molly said. "But can we take a break? I have a paper due on Monday.”

“Sure,” Rose said, still deep in thought.

Molly pulled out her required reading for Transfiguration.

“Hey, Mol?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks," Rose said. "for doing this. I know it’s not your thing, studying history outside of schoolwork. I'm glad you helped me, though, because it would have been a lot harder finding this information alone.”

“Hey, it’s no problem. Besides, it was actually kind of interesting. Those mean old elves.”

Rose laughed loudly, despite the glare and shushing from Madame Pince.

~

The next day was quiet. Rose had finished all her homework, so she played wizard’s chess with Owen for a while, losing several times because she hated strategy games. Plus her men kept wandering out of the board or dancing in their squares; Rose was getting really fed up. Owen tried to bite back his laughter, and failed every time; Rose refused to admit that she enjoyed it when he laughed... besides, he already knew that.

Rose snuck a glance at Owen. He was focused on the chessboard, squinting behind his glasses. He looked up at her, and blushed.

“I can’t focus when you look at me like that, Rosy....” he laughed.

“Sorry!” said Rose, trying not to giggle and failing spectacularly. “You’re cute when you’re concentrating.”

“I guess I should stop concentrating if I want to win.”

“Definitely do that,” Rose laughed. She reached over to brush a stray lock of hair out of his eyes.

“Okay, I forfeit,” he laughed, knocking over his chess pieces melodramatically even as they shouted in protest.

Rose laughed with him. She crossed over the table to sit in the seat beside him, snuggling in close. He wrapped his arms around her and counted her freckles with his finger.

“Hey, so Molly and I were researching about the centaurs and the merpeople and why they were so angry with the elves.” Rose said.

"Oh were you?" Owen asked."What did you find out?"

Rose went on to explain in summary what they found out about the merpeople and the centaurs, and why they were so angry with the elves.

“So perhaps, if we found their magical items, they wouldn’t be so angry at Goldwind and stop threatening Hogwarts and kidnapping people,” said Owen.

“Exactly. But the problem is, we have no idea what the items. I guess it’s a secret.”

"Or maybe everyone has forgotten what they are. Except the elves,” Owen said, frowning.

Rose smiled at him. "We'll have an investigation."

“We'll be a great team,” Owen said quietly, the corner of his mouth quirking up.

Rose burrowed into him. "We'd be a magnificent team. We'd be better than Sherlock and Watson.”

"Too far, Rose," Owen said, then kissed the tip of her nose.

Rose wondered if this was what it felt like to be in love with someone. 


	7. Chapter 7- Lily

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! I'm going to try to keep posting over the next few days while I've got this story fresh on my mind again. :)

“Don’t forget to practice Aguamenti, students. I expect you to have it mastered by Friday,” said Professor Finch, waving her hands. Lily was relieved that the day was finally over- she hated Fridays. 

The first Hogsmeade trip was that Saturday, and Lily was very much looking forward to it. But first she had to slog through tedious amounts of homework. The teachers were really piling it on because O.W.L.’s were at the end of the year. 

Lily trudged down the hall, dreading her next class, Divination. Both of her parents thought it completely unnecessary, and Lily agreed, because she sucked at it. She thought it was completely irrational. It was the only class she took that she didn’t really care about. Lily always sat by Roxanne during class and took advantage of her knack for it; that was the only way she could pass. 

Roxanne and Lily talked for a little while as they waited for class to start. The room was very warm, and Lily was already starting to feel a little bit sleepy from the candles and incense. She picked up one of the quartz rocks near her and fiddled with it, touching the smooth rock faces. She was bored, and she couldn’t focus enough to do anything productive. Maybe that was what she really disliked about the class. 

It was ten minutes past the class start time when Professor Brown finally wandered into the room. She was dressed in a long, blue robe speckled with stars; her fingers sparkled with rings. She wore dark purple lipstick, which made her face look very pale and her dark eyes seem huge. Her brown hair flowed down to her hips, and had tiny flecks of sparkles in it.

Lily thought it was strange, what she was wearing. Usually Professor Brown had no makeup on, and wore faded, flowery robes, so she ended up looking more like a hippie. 

“Today, my dear students, we are learning how to predict horoscopes!” Brown said, waving her hands excitedly. Roxanne smirked. “Now, I’ll give you an example, by telling you what my horoscope is today.” 

She gestured for all the students to come to a huge parchment that she had laid out on the table depicting a diagram of the stars in the sky. “Hmmm… let’s see.” She pointed her finger dramatically at some of the stars. “I believe… it says... that I will find love in a tall, mysterious, powerful man... a traveler new to my sphere.” She looked up at us triumphantly. “How lovely! I am quite lucky today. I can only hope you all will find the same success in your horoscope studies.” 

Roxanne snorted. “Honey, I’m _gay_. This sounds more like a nightmare horoscope than a success.” 

Lavender gave her a dirty look. “Don’t be smart with me, Miss Weasley.” 

Lily rolled her eyes. Now she understood why Brown was dressed the way she was- she must have had a thing for Professor Goldwind. 

“Now,” Brown said, smiling sarcastically, “You must predict the horoscope of a classmate. It won’t be too difficult to do, for today. But I must warn you. I, myself, have a very unique horoscope and if any of you get the same results, I will know you are lying and will take twenty points off your house!” 

Roxanne caught Lily’s eye, and Lily suddenly found she could not hold back her laughter; a chuckle escaped before she could stop herself. Professor Brown gave her a quick glare but otherwise let her off the hook. She must have been in a good mood. 

The rest of the class was rather uneventful. Horoscopes were surprisingly simple to Lily, because there wasn’t much magic involved- it was mostly intuition. After class, Professor Brown gave out the homework, but the homework sheet was so vague that Lily didn’t really know what the professor wanted her to do. Lily stayed after class to ask for some clarification. 

“Professor Lavender?” 

“Yes, Heather?” She asked, smiling. 

“Oh, it’s, um, Lily.” 

“Oh, silly me! Of course, Lily. I’m so exhausted I can’t keep anything straight. I stayed up all night grading.” 

Inside, Lily giggled. Everyone knew Professor Brown really liked to stay up watching Netflix- she always gave back all the graded homework at the end of the year. 

“Anyway, Lily, what was your question?” 

Lily began to explain her problem with the homework, how she didn’t quite understand what she was supposed to study- the Zodiac in general, or the origins of the Zodiac, or both. But it was only a few syllables into the question that the professor seemed to lose herself. 

Lily kept speaking, but the professor’s eyes were hazy. 

“Um, Professor Brown?” 

She didn't answer, so Lily began to turn around to leave, giving up on her eccentric teacher. 

Suddenly, a strange, raspy voice came from behind her as Lily turned her back, which startled her because usually the professor’s voice was very soft. She turned back to the teacher

“The Houses are divided… 

“The Dark Lord is long gone, 

"But what he stood for still thrives…” 

Lily’s eyes opened wide. What was she saying? 

“A family, representing all kinds, 

“Will change the world with their love… 

“But not without turmoil, 

“Not seen for many a year.” 

Lily watched as the professor slumped to her desk, still muttering, and then lying still. She felt panicked, and reached for the professor’s pulse, to find her heart still beating; and then she heard a soft snore, and knew that Brown was simply asleep. 

She left the room, wondering what she had just heard. 


End file.
